The Distance that Separates us from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

The Distance that Separates us from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

Without a doubt, Shylock of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has been a subject of much controversy and debate for scholars and critics worldwide. Specifically, an element of his character that has been thoroughly reviewed is the harshness with which he proposes his bond with Antonio. As contemporary readers of the pound of flesh story we are naturally mortified by the fact that Shylock would call for such barbarous terms. What many of us do not realize is that while we might feel horror about the idea of the bond, the same is not necessarily true for an Elizabethan audience. This story has been a major source of misunderstanding for many of its readers, as it is often interpreted as a demeaning reflection of the nature of the Jew. However, a more careful look at this story, where it may have originated, and what it may have meant to a 16th century audience, may cause us to revaluate this very significant element of the play. The tracing of the possible sources of the story and the examining of the history of usury as well as its position in Elizabethan society may actually serve as testimony on behalf of Shylock and his Jewish identity.

A careful look at the text

In order to begin a comprehensive analysis of the pound of flesh story, it is important to first compare our reactions with those of the other characters in the play. Examining how Shakespeare has his characters respond can tell us a lot about how his audience most likely would have reacted to the same thing. If Shakespeare’s purpose for the bond was indeed to portray the Jew as vulgar and shockingly inhuman, then he would not have had his characters respond so calml...

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...n our ages, the differences must be insisted upon.” He eloquently acknowledges the distance that separates us from Shakespeare and asserts that is, “When we disregard that distance, that the static of our desire to claim his as our contemporary disrupts his voice, and we listen less to his concerns than to his anticipations of our own.”

Works Cited

Charlton, Henry. Shakespeare’s Jew. Manchester: The Manchester University Press, 1970.

Friedlander, Gerald. Shakespeare and the Jew. London: George Routledge & Sons LTD., 1921.,

Grebanier, Bernard. The Truth About Shylock. New York: Random House, 1962.

Greenblatt, Stephen; Cohen, Walter; Howard, Jean; Maus, Katharine. The Norton Shakespeare . New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.

Watson, Alan. The Law of the Ancient Romans. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1970.